Chapter 13 — The Day the Whole School Went Wild

As Gia Nghien reached the top of the stairs, he happened to catch Duyet’s damning words. He froze completely in his tracks. The mother of Gia Nghien turned pale instantly and pulled him behind her back with protective urgency.

What kind of nonsense are you spouting?

Duyet shrank back slightly, trembling with fear, yet refused to yield an inch. With a determined motion, he pulled out his phone and pressed play on a video file.

I am not talking nonsense.

The footage showed the back exit of the sports stadium. The camera shook violently, clearly capturing the scene in secret. Gia Nghien stood right before the storage room door, clutching a heavy ring of keys. Leaning casually against the wall nearby, Hao wore a mocking smirk. From deep within the dark room came the muffled sound of frantic fists pounding against wood.

Is anyone out there?

Gia Nghien raised a single finger to his lips.

Hush.

Just let him stay in there to reflect on himself.

Hao chuckled and added, We can let him out after class starts. The video ended abruptly right there. A heavy silence fell over the hallway. My mother clutched her chest, staggering as if struck a physical blow that left her unable to stand. I reached out to steady her.

Mom, I am alright.

She turned to look at me, tears streaming down her face.

You call this being alright?

I could find no words to reply. Because the reality of that day had been utterly pitch black. The storage room possessed not a single window. The suffocating scents of accumulated dust and rubber filled my throat and choked my breath. I had beaten against the door until my palms turned raw and crimson. Later, when Lam finally came to unlock the door, she offered only a single sentence.

Nam Kieu, why must you always stir up trouble with your peers?

She never asked if I was frightened. She never even inquired who had locked me inside. She merely commanded me to keep the matter quiet, reminding me that the upcoming school-wide merit evaluations were scheduled for next week and warning me not to drag the collective reputation down. The mother of Gia Nghien shrieked, her voice vibrating with panic.

This video has been edited.

You children, why must you be so vicious?

Just to frame my daughter, you are capable of fabricating anything at all.

Duyet’s eye sockets burned red with unshed tears.

Ma am, originally I did not dare to speak up.

It was your daughter who threatened us, saying anyone who dared to help Nam Kieu would find themselves unable to survive peacefully in this class either.

Gia Nghien screamed as though his entire world were collapsing.

Shut your mouth!

He lunged forward, attempting to snatch the phone away. Hao’s father stepped firmly into his path, blocking his way.

Still trying to resort to physical violence?

Gia Nghien stiffened instantly. His mother still intended to unleash a torrent of curses, but she was grabbed tightly by the arm and pulled back by his father, who had just rushed over. The father of Gia Nghien looked ghastly pale. He glanced back and forth between the video on the screen and his own son.

Was this your doing?

Gia Nghien wept, shaking his head violently.

Dad, I did not mean to.

His father raised a hand, yet ultimately failed to strike him. His palm hovered frozen in mid-air, and in that fleeting instant, the man seemed to age several years.

You did not mean to?

Locking a human being inside a storage room is also considered not meaning to?

The mother of Gia Nghien desperately tried to defend him once more.

He is merely a child.

At last, my mother reached her breaking point and exploded.

Is my daughter not a child as well?

When your daughter fears losing face, you call it psychological trauma.

When my daughter is imprisoned in a dark room, you dismiss it as a harmless prank?

Stunned by the fierce rebuke, the mother of Gia Nghien retreated half a step. Further down the corridor, more parents had gathered in a murmuring crowd. Upon overhearing the contents of the video, several of their expressions shifted dramatically. The students who had previously tapped digital hearts of approval within the group chat now shrank timidly toward the back of the throng, too ashamed to lift their gazes. The inspection committee had already officially logged the phone and Duyet’s notebook as physical evidence. Having reviewed the footage, Director Shao immediately instructed the school administration to report the incident to the local police station to open a formal investigation.

This is no longer merely a routine student disciplinary dispute.

Lam was summoned back to the lecture hall as well. Upon being confronted with the footage from the storage room, her very first reaction remained defensive.

At the time, I was unaware of how long she had been trapped there.

I stared straight into her eyes.

You knew I was locked inside.

Lam’s lips drained of all color.

I simply assumed the classmates were engaging in a playful prank.

I pressed further, asking her, Then if the person locked inside had been Gia Nghien, would you still have regarded it as a harmless joke? Lam remained silent. The mother of Gia Nghien whipped her head around to glare at her.

Teacher Lam, say something to defend us.

This matter has nothing to do with Gia Nghien to this extent, does it?

Lam deliberately avoided meeting her desperate gaze. At this late stage, she no longer possessed the courage to shoulder the consequences for anyone else. The mother of Gia Nghien seemed to snap back to reality, her complexion turning unimaginably hideous.

You certainly did not speak to me in that tone when you were accepting my gifts.

The moment those words slipped out, the principal’s expression darkened into a thundercloud. Director Shao immediately snapped his head up.

What did you just say?

The father of Gia Nghien roared, Shut your mouth right now! But it was already too late. Realizing her catastrophic slip of the tongue, the mother of Gia Nghien trembled from head to toe, her lips quivering uncontrollably.

I... I did not mean it that way.

Director Shao’s expression turned glacial.

Notify the disciplinary committee immediately.

At the same time, pull all financial transaction records between Teacher Lam and the students parents over the past year.

Lam’s face turned deathly pale in a fraction of a second. Panic finally overwhelmed her.

School leaders, I am innocent.

I only accepted a few small local specialties.

I never allowed it to influence any merit evaluations.

I pulled a printed document from inside my school bag. It was simply a ranking sheet of academic performances I had casually printed out the previous night while organizing my study materials.

For the comprehensive academic results of the previous semester, I ranked first.

Gia Nghien ranked fifth.